Make Seed Balls

Make Exploding Seed Balls!

Want to have some fun while making the world a greener, more environmentally-friendly place? Make exploding balls of seeds that are both fun to throw and an easy way to grow native wildflowers.

Here’s what you need (makes 8-10 balls):

1/2 oz native wildflower seeds.

3 1/2 oz dry, organic potting soil

1 1/2 oz dry clay (we suggest powdered red pottery clay)

Water

A mixing bowl

A cookie sheet for drying the seed balls

wax paper

Here’s what to do:

Line cookie sheet with wax paper.

Mix seeds and potting soil together.

Add dry clay and mix again.

Slowly add water while still mixing the seeds, potting soil, and water into a well-blended paste.

When you are able to form a ball of the blended material without it falling apart, you are ready to stop mixing.

Mold the mixture into small (~1 inch diameter) balls and place cookie sheet or tray with wax paper.

Allow balls to dry in the sun for at least one day.

Now that I have made seed balls, what do I do with them?

All you have to do is throw them at a patch of dirt and watch it explode! Once it rains (or you water them), they have everything they need to grow.

They also make great gifts! Put them in a plastic bag and give them to all your friends.

Credit: Herder3.

Why Native Wildflowers?

When you are making your seed balls, we recommend you use native wildflower seeds. Native wildflowers are plants that have been a natural part of an ecosystem for long before humans started changing that ecosystem.

The Yellow Sand-verbena (Abronia latifolia) is native to coastal areas on the west coast of North America. Credit: Eric in SF

Humans sometimes mess around with these local plants by removing them or by planting other species of plants that they think might look better. That might not seem like a big deal, but in reality many non-native plants can actually make it much harder for the native plants to survive! These non-native plants can out-compete other plants for resources. Also, they are often not as threatened as native plants are by the plant-eating animals in the area.

The Garden phlox (Phlox paniculata) is native to the eastern United States. Credit: Fabelfroh

But if you make your seed balls with the right seeds, you could be doing the world a lot of good when you explode them onto the ground! Not only can your new plants make an area more beautiful, but also they can help rebuild natural ecosystems and take planet-warming greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.